A Good Cup Of Tea
by sunshine-smiling
Summary: After two years in Michigan, Nick finds himself back in Holby and back wanting answers. He had many questions, but would Zoe provide him with the answers he wanted to hear? How will he deal with Connie?
1. Chapter 1

Nick POV

I had sat in this coffee shop many times during my time in Holby, but something felt different and I wasn't quite sure just yet what that was. I couldn't decide between a cup of coffee or a cup of tea, in the end I had decided on both and more than one sachet of sugar. I would drink both, the coffee giving me energy and the tea dealing with the craving that had been there since the first day I arrived in Michigan. I couldn't find a proper cup of tea in Michigan, it was always too weak or didn't taste like a cup of tea.

I wrapped my hand around the cup of coffee and put it to my lips, it was scorching hot. I had to blow it for a few seconds before I could take a sip, the warm coffee running down my throat relaxed me and made me feel all the better for being here. I had chosen to sit at a stool by the window, the street in front of me wasn't much to look at and the weather was typical English weather. There was always something about rain, both now and when I was a child. It relaxed me and I could sit for hours watching it run down the window. Rain was something I had missed during my stay in Michigan.

"Excuse me, could you put this in a cardboard cup for me. You know one of those ones I can leave the shop with" I said to man behind the counter. I often wondered what I would be doing if I wasn't a doctor, I certainly wouldn't spend my life behind a till.

My tea was handed back to me in a cup that was suitable to take outside the shop and I turned away from the counter. I needed to go back to the apartment I had decided to keep, I knew that one day I would return to Holby and one day I would need somewhere to stay. I wasn't sure what state my car was in, but I would need a car and I needed it fast. I walked through the rain quickly, stopping outside the ED.

Nothing had changed, the grass outside was still green and Zoe was smoking. I walked closer to her tutting, not too loud as I didn't want her to turn around. I hated her smoking, she had given up during our year relationship and picked the bad habit up after we had broken up. She had given up smoking for me, for me and our baby that never was.

"Old habits never change do they?" I whispered close to her ear. She had been facing the wall, her umbrella in one hand and her cigarette in the other. "Bad for you, Zoe"

She didn't turn around instantly, I knew she was processing the voice she had just heard and matching it to the face. She probably thought her mind was playing tricks on her. It wasn't, I was here and I needed to speak to her. When she did eventually turn around, the cigarette in her hand was dropped to the floor and she stared at me. Did I have coffee on my face?

"Nick" She whispered, I could barely hear her. "What are you doing here, I thought, I thought you were in Michigan?"

"I needed a good cup of tea" I told her. She didn't believe me, she always raised her eyebrow slightly when I said something out of the usual. "I needed to come home, Michigan was brilliant, it just wasn't Holby"

"Come inside, you're getting wet. You know where my office is, the one upstairs preferably"

I wasn't sure if she was pleased or not to see me. I had received an email off her recently, Connie had returned to Holby and more so she had decided to stop in the department. This wasn't the place for Connie. I waited for Zoe to walk ahead of me before I walked inside, a few faces stopped and stared as I walked past. Had I really wanted to come back to this?


	2. Chapter 2

Nick looked around the office as he pulled out the chair that was tucked under the desk, something inside of him wanted to walk around the other side and act like he had never been away. He found it hard to adapt to the situation he was in, it was his department when he left and he wanted it to be his department the moment he came back. That was never going to happen, not yet anyway and the department was Zoe's. He knew Connie well enough to know she would have something up her sleeve, she would want to be top dog.

Nick ran his fingers along the edge of the desk, his eyebrow raising slightly as he looked at the tips of his fingers. "You never did like tidying up, a quick wipe everyday usually does the job"

Nick knew Zoe was never going to do that, so he pushed back the chair from the desk and got to his feet. He found the pile of paper towels in the corner and he ran a few under the tap. Once he was satisfied they were wet enough to wipe the layer of dust from Zoe's desk, he returned to his seat and began to wipe the hard wood surface.

"I haven't used this office, whatever mess is here is yours"

Nick knew she hadn't used this office, the paper towels in the corner had been left in that position by him and there was an untouched bottle of wine on the shelf. Nick smiled to himself as he dropped the paper towels into the bin, the bottle of wine wouldn't have been here if Zoe had used this office.

"So I see.." Nick said as he nodded, taking another look around. "How are you?"

Zoe laughed sarcastically at Nick's question. How did he expect her to be, he had walked back into her life and Connie was trying to take over. "Fantastic Nick and yourself?" She said. Pulling out her own chair and sitting down.

"Yes Zoe, I am fine. You know I thought you would have taken the bottle of wine from the shelf" Nick said. Wine was never Zoe's strong point, they could drink two or three bottles of wine between them and Nick would never be the one struggling to walk. "Whatever you do, don't drink wine with Connie Beauchamp. She twists every little thing that you say Zoe, she will already be planning to make her way to the top"

Zoe rubbed her finger between her eyes and down her nose. She had already been for a drink with Connie, not that she could remember much of the conversation between the two. "I am a big girl Nick, I can look after myself. Now to the real question, why are you here?"

Before Nick could speak, the office door was pushed open and Max stood there with two cups of coffee. "Delivery for Dr Hanna, you can repay me later" Max said, a little too loud. Nick sat back in the chair and smiled, he ran his finger over his bottom lip.

"Thank you, Max"

"No problem, you know I really like this office.." Max said, he stepped into the office further. "It's out of the way"

"Yes, that's what I liked about it too" Nick said. Max hadn't noticed Nick just yet, he had kept his eyes on Zoe. Nick stood up out of the chair and walked to the sink, he didn't know Zoe had a boyfriend. Not that he didn't expect Zoe to find someone, but he didn't think she would go for the hospital porter. "Big Mac has certainly changed"

"Max, you are?" Max said. He held his hand out to Nick and Nick looked down at it, his hands had just been washed. He didn't take Max's hand and after a few seconds Max dropped it back to his side. "Ok then, I better get going"


	3. Chapter 3

Zoe stretched her arm across the crisp sheets, she was alone and the other half of the bed was cold. She tucked the sheets around her waist as she sat up, she could hear the sound of music coming from the kitchen and the smell of bacon. Max was here.

She reached over to the side of the bed and plucked Max's t-shirt from the floor, it smelled like him; cheap aftershave. That cheap aftershave made her smile, she loved the smell of him and wearing his t-shirt was something she was more than happy to do.

"Good morning" Zoe said as she padded across the kitchen. "I didn't know you could cook, is it safe to eat?"

Max laughed sarcastically, a smile spreading across his lips. "Don't worry, I know what you're thinking.. I won't tell them it was my dodgy sandwich that made you sick if you need treatment"

Zoe lifted herself up onto the stool in the kitchen and tapped her fingernails on the surface of her worktop. Sooner or later they would be made public, Zoe was in fact dating the hospital porter and she wasn't ashamed.

"So, this Nick bloke" Max said. He pushed Zoe's bacon sandwich in front of her and a cup of steaming hot coffee. "Who is he?"

Zoe picked the cup up and put it to her lips, how could she explain Nick Jordan to her current boyfriend. Should she mention the fact they were actually a couple, but they split because she lied about a pregnancy or how about the fact she forged his signature for brain surgery.

"He was the previous clinical lead, he left because his partner died" Zoe spoke confidently, there was nothing wrong with telling Max what she wanted him to know. "I don't think he will be staying long, don't worry"

"I am not worried. He's at least 60 and doesn't have the charm us porters do" Max said as he winked. He wiped his hands on his bare chest and walked to the bathroom, he needed a shower.

Zoe smiled at his comment, taking her first sip of coffee and immediately spitting it back into the cup. If it wasn't the bacon that would make her ill, the coffee certainly would. She barely used the milk in her fridge and by the taste of the coffee, Max never checked the expiry dates.

She leant her elbows on the table and rubbed her eyes, she could easily go back to bed for another hour; she never did get much sleep when Max was around. He had showed up unexpectedly last night, with a Chinese and a bottle of wine. He had turned Robyn and Lofty down for a drink in the pub.

Zoe on the other hand was grateful she had brushed off Nick's offer to buy her a glass of wine, she wanted to keep digging and digging with Nick, she would need to do that another time. Soon enough he would tell her exactly why he was back in the department and when he was planning on leaving, that's if he was going to leave.

"Ready to go Dr Hanna?" Max said cheekily, lifting his t-shirt over Zoe's head and pulling it on himself. Zoe hopped off the stool and moved quickly towards the bedroom laughing.

* * *

Zoe walked through the department doors before Max, he would wait outside having a cigarette and walk in ten minutes later. It was usual for Max to be late, Zoe on the other hand had to set an example. She walked past reception and caught some of Noel and Louise's conversation, they were talking about Nick.

Walking up to her office door, it was open and Nick Jordan was behind the desk. "Good morning Dr Hanna, you are late by a few minutes"


End file.
